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Ronn and Karin Gookin are not new to the entrepreneur world. They bought their first business, a flooring store years ago. With no food service background, it was an idea presented to them by their partner, John Nelson, to start producing and selling Italian Ice in the Grand Valley. In New York City, where John is from, it is not unusual to see an Italian Ice cart on every corner and in every park. However, here in Grand Junction it is a brand new market. Sure, they have competition from ice cream trucks and Gelato shops, but once you try their brand of Italian Ice, Gelu, there is no denying that it is unlike anything else. They use fresh fruit in almost all of their products and it is completely dairy free.

Even with the Gookin’s extensive business background, it took a lot of research to turn their idea into a reality – they first had to learn how to make Italian Ice. They started with old recipes from John’s east coast friends and added their own twists. They read books, scoured the internet, and quizzed Italian Ice experts. From there, the business has soared. With two full time jobs, making Italian Ice in the evenings has turned into a family activity for the Gookins. Their two sons are a big part of the business by making flavor suggestions, helping make the ices, delivering carts to events, and selling the ice. Gelu currently sells their ice daily in downtown Grand Junction as well as at Farmers Markets, rodeos, special events & festivals, sporting events and more. With over 100 scheduled events for the summer of 2014 and more rolling in everyday, they continue to expand. What started with 2 carts has turned into 6 in less than a year.

Gelu’s owners attribute some of their success to their relationship with the Small Business Development Center and the Business Incubator Center’s Commercial Kitchen Program. Ronn says “The Incubator did whatever they could to help us get started. The credibility of working through the program and being part of a well-known and well-respected kitchen has added great value to out business.” The Gookin’s have continued to meet with SBDC coaches for everything from QuickBooks to Health Department Rules and Regulations. They are thankful for the flexibility of the SBDC coaches, who have always been willing to work around their schedule. When asked for advice to give future entrepreneurs, Ronn says, “Starting a business is hard. You would be crazy not to come to the SBDC for advice; there is no better place to go.”

The Frame Depot was opened in 1986 by Randy Bogart. The business was originally housed with its companion business, Art Depot, which was owned by Randy’s brother, Jack. In 1996, the business moved to a new location with a street that was yet to be named. Since two other family members also had businesses on the street, it only seemed natural to name it Bogart Lane. The new building housed both Depots, but after Jack retired, he sold his side of the building to the Frame Depot. Since 2000, Claudine Bogart, Randy’s daughter, had been running the business. After the tragic loss of her father in 2011, she became the new owner. In 2007, in order to build her skills and knowledge, Claudine enrolled in the Leading Edge class. In 2009, Frame Depot won the “Best Back Room in the Nation” award from Décor Magazine.

Up until 2012, Frame Depot had been renting out the unused half of the building, but after losing their renter, were left trying to fill the vacant space. With the loss of the tenant, Wells Fargo informed Claudine that they would not renew the loan, and thus left her with one year to decide how to fill the vacancy, as Frame Depot could not support the full building. During this time, Claudine met with the Small Business Development Center and took advantage of free coaching, and, combined with skills she had learned in Leading Edge years earlier, was able to refinance the building through a Credit Union. Claudine says that learning how to do cash flows from the SBDC was an integral part of negotiating the refinance.

Claudine credits much of her success to working with the SBDC through counseling and Leading Edge. She met with SBDC coaches in the areas of marketing, real estate, finances, QuickBooks, and business plan review. She says the Leading Edge class filled the gaps and helped her to understand “why we do the things we do” in the business planning process. She feels Leading Edge and the SBDC provided her with tools to succeed.
Claudine’s advice to people looking to start a business is, “ask for advice, listen to it, and do your homework. Make sure the product or service you want to provide is needed.” And as for the SBDC, Claudine says, “It is helpful to know there’s people out there who can help you for free!”

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Larry and Kathleen White, along with their daughter, Leslie Kell, were on vacation looking for something fun to do as a family. They looked at a local website listing upcoming activities when something caught their eye and they visited a place called Epic Escape Game. They had so much fun, all they talked about on the way home was how exciting it would be to run a business like Epic Escape Game. They even met with the owner about opening one up in Grand Junction and less than a year later, that is exactly what they did.
Epic Escape Game is a fun interactive adventure game designed for everyone. The concept is simple. A team will be locked in a room where they have 60 minutes to find clues, solve puzzles and escape from the room before their time is up. One can play with their family, friends or co-workers. The object is to make an Epic Escape.

Before opening the business, they met with a friend who recommended that they talk with the Grand Junction SBDC. They had been around business all their lives, but they had never run one. After taking the Grand Junction SBDC’s “How to Start a Business” class, they put together a business plan that made financial sense. Also, they learned about managing profit and loss along with cash flows. Their vision was to create a business that would be of benefit to the people of Grand Junction. Since opening on December 26, 2015, they have seen 25 to 30% growth each month.

The joy in seeing families and people solving puzzles is what makes these business owner’s excited and keeps their business growing. “People act like they found a million dollars when they solve a puzzle and get a lock open,” says Kathleen. Their advice is to talk to people who have done it and find out what it takes to be done. “Do not be afraid to ask for advice especially multiple people,” says Larry. “The support team is what helps build confidence.”

For Jim Jeffryes, brewing beer had always been a source of refuge from his stressful job in technology. That is, until 1998 when he decided to jump into brewing beer full time. Although Jim had brewed beer recreationally, he had never done it in the quantities he was going to need to support a brewery, so after purchasing land on 9th & Struthers in Grand Junction, he enrolled in beer school and took Leading Edge & How to Start a Business. Unfortunately, by the time Jim had finished his education, a major road project was started near 9th & Struthers that would make it difficult to operate a successful business until it was completed, so along with partners, the location near Mesa State College was secured. It took $130,000 in infrastructure improvements from the landlord and an additional $378,000 capital injection to open the doors to Kannah Creek Brewery in October 2005.

In 2011, Kannah Creek Brewing Company purchased equipment that allowed them to manufacture significantly larger quantities of beer which opened up a new market selling kegs to local restaurants. After only 2 years, the production reached its maximum capacity so in order to continue to grow, the project at 9th & Struthers had to move forward. Fortunately, the major construction along the Riverside Parkway had been completed which made this feasible. The lot was “shovel ready”, SBA financing was in place after a year of working with their local lender, and ground was broken October 2012. After 7 months, Edgewater Tap & Grill opened its doors to the public on May 9th, 2013 and has been warmly received by the community. Often times, there is not an open seat to be found so there is already discussion about expanding the seating area to the outside patio. In addition to great food, beer on tap, growlers to go, and selling kegs to restaurants, Edgewater has expanded their market to offer 6-packs of bottled beer available in liquor stores and on site starting June 2013.

Jim credits some of his success to working with the SBDC through counseling and Leading Edge. He said it was a real eye opening experience as Leading Edge showed him how complicated running a business could be if a person didn’t have the proper “tools” going into it. He felt Leading Edge and the SBDC provided him with those tools to succeed.

Jim’s advice to people looking to start a business is, “Have a plan & cash to open a business with. It’s not a hobby and takes lots of hard work.”

PRODUCTS

I have assembled a stable of stars to assist me in the promotion of my fine line of delicious elixirs, mixers and more. I exhibit two breeds of bloody mary mixes: Rooster Collbran’s Tart & Twangy Bloody Mary Mix, tuned with the taste of dill pickles and lemons and Rowdy Roubidoux’s Hot & Wild Bloody Mary Mix, fueled by habanero, horseradish and wasabi. I also boast of a complementary food line featuring: bloody mary rimmin’ salt, hot sauce, steak sauce, jalapeño stuffed olives, red beans & rice readi-mix, and seasoning salt. The Bloody Mary is an extremely unique drink. This tomato juice based cocktail is a meal in a glass; garnishments can include stalked celery and a squeezed lime with skewered olives, okra, cheese, shrimp, pickles & peppers (to name just a few of my favorites). Not to mention, my non-alcoholic bloody mary mixes are veritably versatile vessels: add vodka to it to make the classic Bloody Mary, tequila for a Bloody Maria and whiskey for a Bloody Molly. And when you add no alcohol? A Bloody Shame. But to each his own, I encourage everyone to enjoy my mix to their preference and in good health.

BACKGROUND

I’ve been called a gambler, a rambler, an entrepreneur, a raconteur, a bon vivant and an iconoclastic impresario. I’ve even been called a snake oil salesman–but in my defense, snakes do need to be oiled. But from here forthwith, I am the Bloody Mary Emissary!

THE IDEA

I’ve long been enchanted by the Bloody Mary. But respectable ones are as few and far between as a good chicken fried steak. I was painfully perceptive that most national brand Bloody Mary mixes (and many bars) use subpar ingredients to produce a paltry paste barely passing as a Bloody Mary (much like stuffing a child’s dolly with sawdust—it’s unacceptable). Quite simply, my Bloodies are better. My creative conceptions are perpetual zephyrs of flavor. My auspiciously delicious elixirs relieve the pains of desperation and mediocrity.

Each bottle of bloody mary mix is lovingly hand-crafted by my business partner Drew Hanlon at the commercial kitchen of the Business Incubator.

GRAND JUNCTION SBDC

With their classes such as Leading Edge and free counseling, the fine folks at the Grand Junction SBDC have been invaluable in providing a fertile environment for my brilliance to flourish into a most exquisite bouquet of commerce.

In our condensed commonality, we’ve all heard the term “BFF”. Well, this summer 2011 my marketplace is “BFFF”—The best fairs, festivals and farmers’ markets of the Western Slope. This will be an incredible opportunity for patrons of good taste (especially the ladies) to come out and meet the Colonel in person. After this summer, I’ll be presenting bars, restaurants, liquor stores and gift shops with the opportunity of a lifetime: to carry my fine concoctions and creations on their counters & cupboards. And come Christmas time, I’ll also be offering a line of corporate gift buckets featuring all my magnificent merchandise and private label food stuff.

COL. CLIFTON DEBEQUE

The title is honorary, but my products are extraordinary. You see, the company name is Delixirs, but the name on the bottle is mine: “Col. Clifton DeBeQue Proudly Presents…”